News Releases (86)

The Corporate Reform Coalition applauds the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) commitment to seek disclosure of all corporate political spending in response to a historic demonstration of investor demand for such a rule-making.

In one of the last actions of departing SEC Chair Mary Schapiro’s term, the agency announced that it will consider a proposed rule to require that public companies provide disclosure to shareholders regarding the use of corporate resources for political activities. A petition requesting this rulemaking was filed in 2011 by a bipartisan committee of leading law professors.

In a telephone press conference today, coalition members urged the agency to move swiftly on the rule, now that it is on the agenda.

Washington (HRC March 28 News Release) - At a campaign event at a bowling alley in Wisconsin today, GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum told a boy who reached for a pink bowling ball: "You're not gonna use the pink ball. We're not gonna let you do that. Not on camera." Santorum went on to say "Friends don't let friends use pink balls." The comments were tweeted by Reuters reporter Sam Youngman.

The following is a news release from the office of Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky

WASHINGTON, DC (March 12, 2012) - Today Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and 93 fellow House members sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to raise the alarm over human rights violations in Honduras where human rights defenders, journalists, community leaders and opposition activists are subject to death threats, attacks and extrajudicial executions. Today also marks the 18th fatal attack on a member of the news media in the past two years after a Honduran journalist was killed by an unknown attacker wielding a machete.

In the Bajo Aguán region, forty-five people associated with peasant organizations working to resolve ongoing land disputes have been killed since September 2009, as well as seven security guards, a policeman, a journalist and his partner, and three other persons. Underlying the violence are long-standing land conflicts, and witnesses have reported that private security guards on disputed farmlands are the perpetrators of many of these crimes.

The following is a statement from the US Congressional Progressive Caucus in support of the Occupy Wall Street Movement:

Washington DC - Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva and Keith Ellison today released the following statement in solidarity with the demonstrators on Wall Street and around the country:

"We have been inspired by the growing grassroots movements on Wall Street and across the country. We share the anger and frustration of so many Americans who have seen the enormous toll that an unchecked Wall Street has taken on the overwhelming majority of Americans while benefitting the super wealthy. We join the calls for corporate accountability and expanded middle-class opportunity.

Washington DC - On September 27, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) released the following statement in response to a just released letter written by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, that called for an extensive, burdensome investigation of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and 83 of its affiliates despite regular state and federal audits that have shown no evidence of misuse of funds.

"With the recent announcement of their needless and politically motivated investigation of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, House Republicans continue to make their extreme agenda clear: to undermine women's access to reproductive health care and attack the health providers they rely on in their communities.

In the wake of the Don Imus insult to the Rutgers University women's basketball team during their play in the 2007 final four tournament, Rutgers University is convening a panel discussion to address racism and sexism in the media and society. Dave Zirin, BuzzFlash Guest Contributor and eminent commentator on the interface of sports and politics, is among the panelists. The event is open to the public.

Washington, DC - Although the American people broke the Republican Party's grip on Washington in November, the Republican Culture of Corruption and its repercussions are still being felt around the country. The Wall Street Journal reported today that the FBI's political corruption unit is investigating potential kickbacks to ex-GOP Congressman Jim Gibbons from a defense contractor. Gibbons is now Governor of Nevada. [Wall Street Journal, 2/15/07]

U.S. Federal Court Judge Reggie B. Walton today denied all motions in sixteen cases pending before his court regarding the detentions at the Guantanamo Bay Prison Camp on the grounds that the Military Commissions Act (MCA) stripped the court of jurisdiction. In his decision he stated, "Until the District of Columbia Circuit resolves the jurisdictional questions raised by the MCA, it is this court's view that it lacks the authority to take any action in these cases." The denials were without prejudice, meaning that plaintiffs could move to reinstate the motions after the higher court rules on MCA questions. Other judges with Guantánamo cases have reached different conclusions and not denied all motions before them. Walton's decision affects over 200 individuals currently imprisoned at Guantanamo.

Washington, DC - John McCain's inaugural get-out-the-vote meeting is taking place today in Dedham, Massachusetts according to the Boston Herald. [Boston Herald, 1/29/07] Ironically, while the meeting is supposed to be about getting people out to vote, McCain has hired a slew of political operatives who are famous for questionable tactics, some of which include voter suppression. The hires raise serious questions about how far McCain is willing to go to win the 2008 nomination.

On Saturday, I was thrilled to join hundreds of thousands of protesters in Washington, D.C., including my good friends at Progressive Democrats of America and Code Pink, in protesting the Iraq War and demanding a cut-off in funds to the immoral war in Iraq. As one who has been part of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war movements in the 60?s, I can say that the energy and enthusiasm I saw today is entirely comparable.